An Introduction
to Roger Zelazny's Amber Universe and the Amber Diceless Role-Playing Game

Disclaimer Type Thing:I didn't create either of these things, and these are just my understanding
of it all, not intended to trample any feet, copyrights, etc. Take
it all with a pinch of salt.

Introduction

The world which you have always believed was the sum of creation is
but a Shadow of the one true world, the world of Amber the Eternal City,
the most real of all worlds. The magnificent city which you believe
the sum of civilization? But a shadow of the One True City, Amber.
The magnificent forests of your homeland? But a shadow of the most
true forest, Arden the Great. Your seas are but a pale reflection
of the aqua waves of the oceans on which Amber plies its trade. Your
sun is but a lightbulb before the glory of the primal Sun of Amber, and
your Moon has no power to call forth cities in the sky. You must
cast away your illusions of glory, and come to understand the true nature
of things.

In the dawn of time itself, Dworkin Barimen, a rebel son of Chaos, inscribed
the Pattern with his own blood, using the Jewel of Judgement, a most powerful
artifact rumored to be one of the eyes of the Serpent of Chaos. By
doing so, he reshaped all of creation, transforming what was Chaos into
Order. At the heart of creation stands Amber, the Eternal City, ruled
over by the descendants of Dworkin, the royal family of Amber. Dworkin's
son Oberon became the first King of Amber, ruling for centuries over the
Eternal City and spawning a probably uncountable number of children by
his many wives and mistresses. All those who have Oberon's blood
in their veins possess a double legacy--a claim on the throne of Amber,
and a claim to power, for those who have the blood of Oberon have the power
to walk the Pattern which lies in the dungeons of Castle Amber, and gain
the power to walk through Shadow to whatever they may desire.

The Pattern Chamber sits down under Castle Amber in the dungeons, in
a room which is designed to be locked from the outside, as if there was
some danger the Pattern would get up and walk away if not locked in, though
it has never done so that anyone is aware of. The Pattern basically
resembles a very complex and twisted spiral. One begins to walk it
from the outside tip of the spiral, then keeps going until one reaches
the center. Those who have the blood of Oberon can walk it from start
to finish, and thus gain power over Shadow. Those who lack Oberon's
blood burst into flames and die in seconds if they touch it. Once
you start walking it, you should NEVER stop, or you will probably be unable
to start again. Nor can you turn back, unless you want to die.
It is an exhausting exercise, not for the physically weak. Once you
reach the center the first time, you gain power over Shadow, to travel
through Shadow by use of your will. Both that time, and any
other time you choose to walk it, you can command the Pattern to send you
wherever you desire to go.

The power to move through Shadow conveyed by the Pattern is fairly simple
to use. As one walks, one can make small changes in the world around
you. As those changes mount, you move from Shadow to Shadow, stepping
between parallel, similar universes. Small changes gradually mount
up, and eventually you can move into any sort of Shadow you can imagine...including
ones that can kill you if you're not careful. If you are in a hurry,
you can hellride, where you keep a single detail and change everything
else around you. But this is very dangerous, as its hard to control
such large scale changes. If you're not in a hurry, you can take
it easy and travel through Shadows where everyone worships you and makes
your life easy--this is called 'the Royal Way' or the 'Ego Food Way' by
the more sarcastic.

So what is Shadow? This remains unclear. Shadows are universes,
ranging in size from closets to 'infinite' in size. Close to Amber,
it is hard to use the Pattern to shift Shadow, so it remains unclear as
to how large Amber's home universe actually is. Adjacent Shadows
are usually, but not always, nearly identical to each other. Thus,
it can be tricky to meet someone in Shadow, as you may be three Shadows
down from your friend, in a place whose main difference from the one he's
in is nearly undetectable.

Near to Amber, the laws of nature and geography are similar to Amber,
but as you move further away, those laws change. You can find worlds
with no magic, no science, where fire is impossible or everything is fire,
where everyone is Elvis (except Michael J. Fox), or which are inhabited
by versions of yourself. Yes, the Royal Family and many other Amberites
cast twisted reflections of themselves into Shadow. Thus, you can
go find a shadow of yourself and kill it, then leave the body for your
relatives to find so they think you've been murdered (one of Caine's old
tricks). Didn't like your father? Find a shadow of him and
beat him up. Girlfriend dumps you? Go find a shadow of her
who worships you.

In fact, whatever you desire can be found out in Shadow. If you
have walked the Pattern, you can fix your mind on something and seek it
in Shadow, and if you don't die in the process, you will find it.
Whatever your heart desires is out there, be it good or evil. At
some stage, almost every royal family member loses themselves in Shadow
for decades or centuries, gratifying their whims in this way.

But sooner or later, this pales, because Shadow is only Shadow.
Anything earned too easily loses its lustre, and thus, sooner or later,
you'll find yourself returning to Amber, Amber which is Real, Amber which
cannot simply be made into whatever you want by willing it. In Amber,
you must work for what you get, and that comes to be more satisfying...for
some, anyway.

And yet, there is evidence that Shadows can become more Real.
If many Amberites visit, or one dwells in a Shadow for a long time, the
Shadow becomes harder to mold, firmer, more solid, more enduring.
Such a shadow is the 'Shadow Earth' on which Prince Corwin dwelt for centuries,
as did Princess Flora. Such Shadows raise disturbing questions about
whether even Amber the Eternal City is real, or whether its current Reality
was simply molded into it by the dwelling here of many Amberites.

And there's another problem: Chaos.

If one rides far enough through Shadow, one comes to a tree, Yig, said
to have been planted by Oberon to mark the boundaries of Amberite rule.
Beyond Yig the shadows turn increasingly strange and flimsy, easily broken
and warped. Far beyond Yig, one comes to the Courts of Chaos, home
to Amber's rivals for control of creation, who huddle about the Abyss,
the great garbage pit of creation. They draw their power to shift
Shadow from the Logrus, an ever-changing three-dimensional version of the
Pattern that only Shapeshifters can walk. The folk of Chaos have
mutable minds and mutable bodies, as you might expect from their name,
but they too are ruled over by a King.

The Logrus and the Pattern, Chaos and Order, Courts of Chaos and Amber,
are locked in a seemingly endless struggle, sometimes violent, sometimes
less so, and the tension between them is reflected in Shadow, the trillions
of
universes torn between those two poles of creation. For a time,
a black road ran through Shadow between the poles, but that road has been
destroyed. These tensions last exploded in the Patternfall War, the
topic of the first Amber pentology, when Brand betrayed Amber to Chaos
and tried to destroy it so he could remake creation in his own image.
The war ended with a treaty of more or less peace between Amber and Chaos,
but tensions remain.

This is the multiverse of Amber, two places which possess 'Reality'
of some kind, and a great blur of universes between them, which can be
travelled through and molded by those who have walked the great Icons that
confer real Power: the Pattern and the Logrus.

Castle Amber and the City of Amber

The exact size and dimensions of Amber proper remain debatable. Close
to Amber, shadows blend into each other and tend to resist being molded
to a degree which makes it unclear at what point you've actually left the
home shadow. Also, those from shadows sufficiently close to Amber can apparently
freely travel between those shadows at certain points or areas.

Castle Amber lies on the southeastern slopes of Mount Kolvir, which
sits at the far western point of a U-shaped gulf which opens out eastward
(It's at the 'bottom of the u'.) It is about two thirds of the way
up the mountain. At the top of the mountain floats Tir'na'og, a mirror
image of Kolvir, Castle Amber and the City of Amber, on nights when the
moon shines in the sky. It is reached by a stair that appears on
top of Kolvir when the moon shines. Below Kolvir, at the mouth of the Barimen
river, lies the City of Amber and Amberport, two cities grown together
into one. Amberport has no walls, although the harbor is guarded by two
towers and a chain, while the city is walled. A long staircase and a long
and winding road which switches back and forth frequently allow access
from city to castle.

Immediately south of Kolvir is the Vale of Garnath, most of which is
covered by the Forest of Arden, the great hunting preserve of the Kings
of Amber. It is protected by the Warden of Arden. Along the southern coast
of the Gulf of Amber, three days ride from Amber, is Rebma, the underwater
reflection of Amber. It claims only a tiny portion of the coast, which
is full of farming and fishing villages.

Castle Amber

Castle Amber is a huge sprawling fortress along the southeastern slope
of Mount Kolvir. It overlooks the pass which provides the easiest access
to the plains to the north. It can be entered in two ways: climbing a steep
staircase straight up to it from the city or riding up a longer, but less
steep road which winds up from the pass. Rumors persist of other
access tunnels, but nothing has been proven.

A curtain wall surrounds the castle to the south and east, while the
steep slope of Kolvir shields it to the west and north. Inside the curtain
wall is a large courtyard, various small auxillary buildings such as the
stables and smithy, a large garden on the northern side of the courtyard,
and dug into the mountain itself, the main keep and palace on the western
side of the courtyard.

The palace has five external stories, plus many subterranean levels
dug into the mountains. The ground level contains most of the governmental
business and public function areas. The second level contains the great
ballroom, the armory, the library, and the great dining hall with related
areas (kitchen, servants, etc). The third level contains the quarters of
your generation of Amberites and the main guest areas. The fourth level
contains the King's quarters and the royal vaults. The fifth level is for
the king only, and none of you know what is up there.

Below the palace are many layers of tunnels. These include the dungeons,
Dworkin's quarters, various laboratories and storage rooms, the wine cellar,
and the Pattern chamber.

The Pattern Chamber

This room is of especial note. The Pattern sits in the dungeons of Castle
Amber, in a room which is usually locked. The key hangs in the hallway
by the door. Yes, it seems to be locked in order to keep something in,
not to keep people out of it...

The City of Amber

Little is said in the canonical materials of the lay out of the city,
other than the general impression that it is laid out like most medieval
cities, divided into quarters. Somewhere within the city is a dive
for low lifes known as 'Bloody [Insert Previous Owner's Name Here]'.

Forest Arden

Forest Arden is a thick, ancient woods riddled with trails which can
move about at the Warden of Arden's command. It is easiest to enter
Amber by land through the forest, unless one can fly or excells at mountain
climbing.

The Golden Circle

Amber maintains trade relations with a variety of kingdoms that are
close to it in Shadow; these kingdoms are known as the Golden Circle.

The Royal Family of Amber

The information given here reflects the situation at the end of the
second Amber Pentology. Campaigns using alternate Ambers will of
course alter this information.

Dworkin

Dworkin created the Pattern. Quite possibly he can't die while
it endures. He's eccentric and mysterious, no longer dangerously
insane as he was when the Pattern was damaged for a time, but hard to understand.
He seems to wield every Power except perhaps Logrus, but since Merlin has
shown you can use Pattern AND Logrus, perhaps he still knows the Logrus
arts as well.

Oberon

Oberon is dead and gone, but while he lived, he was a ruthless bastard
who used and abused his wives and children in his complex political games.
It seemed that Amber itself was his only true love, and all his games were
done for its benefit...or to sate his lusts. He died at the end of
the Patternfall War (end of the fifth novel), and was succeeded by Random.

'I see dead people': The Dead Siblings

It should be noted that it remains debatable as to whether any of these
people are actually dead for real, given Caine has proved how easy it is
to fake your own death.

Brand: Brother of Fiona and Bleys. Went mad and tried
to erase the Pattern and make his own Pattern, helping to cause the Patternfall
War. Last seen falling into the Abyss, and presumed dead. He
had become a 'living Trump' before his death.

Caine: Shot by assassins while visiting a Golden Circle kingdom
in the second Pentology. Given he's faked his death before, the likelihood
he's really dead is slim.

Dierdre: Sister to Corwin, Caine, and Eric. Fell into
the Abyss with Brand at the end of the Patternfall War.

Eric: Brother to Corwin, Caine and Deirdre. Ruled Amber
for a time after Oberon's disappearance, but sacrificed himself in the
Patternfall War. Had a long feud with Corwin.

Finndo: Died long ago under mysterious circumstances.
Older brother of Benedict.

Osric: Also died long ago under mysterious circumstances.
Older brother of Benedict.

The Princes of Amber

The Princes can be divided into two generations: Oberon's children
and their own children.

Oberon's Male Children

Benedict: The ultimate master of warfare. Benedict is
loyal to Amber more than to any king or sibling. He has no living
full siblings.

Bleys: A well rounded man who does a little of everything,
but isn't quite best at anything. He helped Corwin plot against Eric
in the past, and his degree of loyalty to Random is uncertain. He
is brother to Brand and Fiona.

Corwin: Relentless and unstoppable. Corwin narrarates
the first five Amber novels. Once a not very nice guy, he has mellowed
and become a better person. He had a bitter rivalry with Eric which
eventually led to war between them. He is father to Merlin, the current
King of Chaos, by Dara, a Chaos princess descended from Benedict.
Unfortunately, Dara has come to hate him because he killed her uncle Borel
during the Patternfall War. Given enough time, Corwin can heal any
injury. Brother to Caine, Deirdre, and Eric.

Dalt: The result of Oberon's rape of Deela, a terrorist who
went around desecrating Unicorn shrines. First appears out to wipe
out Amber, but eventually reconciles with the relatives, more or less.

Delwin: Little is known of Delwin, who appears only in the
second Pentology. Seems to have powers over dreams and possibly some
connection to the Spikards. Brother to Sand.

Gerard: The Nice Guy of Amber. Huge and strong, he commands
one of Amber's fleets and tries mostly unsuccessfully to keep his sneaky
siblings in line. Brother to Julian.

Julian: Uptight and a little on the morose and cranky side,
Julian defends Arden from intruders and struggles to protect Amber from
outside threats. He is Gerard's brother. Julian has Morgenstern,
perhaps the ultimate horse, a horde of hell hounds, falcons, and a forest
guard at his command.

Random: To the surprise of everyone, he's now King of Amber.
He is married to a blind woman of Rebma, Vialle, and father to Martin,
his heir (by a now deceased Rebman noblewoman, Morganthe).

The Younger Generation:

Luke/Rinaldo: Son of Brand and Jasra. He sought for
a time to avenge his father, but has come to reconcile with the Royal Family.
Now rules Kashfa, friend to Merlin.

Martin: Random's son, who has turned Cyberpunkish of late.
Brand tried to use his blood to erase the Pattern, but only damaged it.
This did nothing to make him like or trust his relatives.

Merlin: Son of Dara and Corwin. He does a little of everything,
has a Trump Computer named Ghostwheel, and narrarates the second five Amber
novels. Now King of Chaos.

The Princesses of Amber

Oberon's Children:

Coral: Illegitimate daughter of Oberon and a Begman noblewoman.
Last seen with the Jewel of Judgement implanted in her eye socket by Dworkin
for no discernable reason, and pregnant by Merlin.

Fiona: Fiona is a student of many powers, and has the strongest
mind in Amber. She is sister to Brand and Bleys and often works with
them. (Well, not with Brand anymore.)

Flora: Flora is the most 'normal' of the female Amberites,
seeming to hit on all the traditional feminine sterotypes. Until
you learn she carries grenades and guns in her purse, anyway.

Llewella: Llewella has no taste for politics, and mostly stays in
Rebma, avoiding her siblings.

Sand: Little is known of Sand, who appears only in the second
Pentology. Seems to have powers over dreams and possibly some connection
to the Spikards. Sister to Delwin.

The Powers That Be

There are a variety of special powers available to those who dwell at
the heart of reality, beyond the ken of most Shadow Dwellers. Some
have special requirements, while others can be learned by Shadow denizens.

Pattern

Only those of the blood of Oberon can walk the Pattern and pass into
infinite
Shadow, making it their playground and laboratory. At first, you
learn how to walk through shadow as described in the introduction.
Students of Pattern can also learn to call its image into their mind and
use it to defend themselves from other Powers. Advanced students
learn how to walk the Pattern in their minds, then use it to scry through
Shadow like a lens, seeking things and then moving themselves to those
things or vice versa by pure will. It can also be used to mold shadows
and play with probabilities.

Broken Pattern

There exist in shadow many reflections of the Pattern. The further
you go from Amber, the more damaged and warped they become. Some
of them are full of holes, which enables Shadow dwellers to walk 'between
the lines', and thus reach the center, burning the image of the Broken
Pattern into their mind. This conveys the power to walk through Shadow...but
your imprint is damaged, and thus you tend to end up in twisted, damaged
shadows which are Not Fun (tm). Still, it's the easiest way for people
who can't walk the Pattern or Logrus to get a way to cruise around Shadow.
Also popular with sorcerors because they can hang spells on it.

Logrus

Anyone who can shapeshift can try to walk the Logrus, although it will
drive them temporarily mad, and kill them if they lack the endurance to
survive its many tests. Survivors can then use the Logrus to reach
through Shadow and find things, drawing those things to them with its tendrils,
or grabbing onto those things and pulling themselves to them. They
can use the Logrus as a storage space for spells, or create servants from
its tendrils. They can use it to study things from a distance or
simply whack people around with it. Advanced students learn how to
create roads through shadow, to mold shadows into whatever form they like
(although Chaos tinged shadows tend to start changing and have to be periodically
fixed), or even how to unleash Primal Chaos (VERY DANGEROUS).

Trump

The origins of Trump and the source of its power is unknown. Those
who study the ways of Trump can create pictures (usually cards) with a
link to what is depicted. Trumps of Places can be used to travel
there. Trumps of People allow communication with those people and
even allow contactor or contactee to pull the other through the link.
Truly skillful Trump Artists are said to be able to create Trumps which
trigger on a touch (acting as traps), to tell who is trying to Trump call
them, or even to create Trumps which don't show their true target.
It is unclear in the canon as to whether anyone at all can be a Trump Artist,
although anyone can use Trumps, even normal humans.

Shapeshifting

While most Chaosians can do this, this power is not limited to them.
Starting with a handful of forms, Shapeshifters eventually learn to change
into anything, even becoming able to absorb things to give them more mass,
or reduce their mass to become smaller things. They can adapt swiftly
to changing environments, become pillars of flame, turn into animals, sprout
new organs, and close up their wounds, healing themselves at the cost of
tiring.

Magic

The Amber RPG divides magic into three categories: Power Words,
Sorcery, and Conjuration, but Zelazny doesn't actually enforce such a disjunction
in the canonical materials. In general, the biggest problems of magic
in the Amber Universe are the facts that:

Many Shadows don't support magic.

Spells take minutes to hours to prepare, and thus aren't good for emergencies.

Spells can be hung for later use in objects or on the Logrus, but they
tend to decay, so you have to frequently refresh them, which eats up time.

Even hung spells have to be edited for use in a particular situation and
shadow, which takes crucial time.

Magic tends to crumple in the face of Trump, Logrus, or Pattern.

Still, magic does have its uses, and it can be quite powerful in many places,
especially around Chaos.

The Amber Diceless Role Playing Game

The Amber DRPG is a very flexible system produced by Phage Press, enabling
one to role play in the world of Zelazny's Amber. It is very simple
and easy to learn (or so I delude myself), and most of the material on
my Amber pages is for use with it. The 'standard' campaign is set
after the events of the first ten books, but most GMs tinker with that
to a greater or lesser extent, including alternate royal families, adding
trains, or turning everyone in Amber into sentient weasels. Or whatever.

It uses a point and auction system for character creation. At
the start of the campaign, players bid on their attributes, thus resulting
in creating ranked attributes. The auction winner is first in say,
Strength, the next highest bidder becomes second, and so on.

Remaining points are spent to buy powers, items, creatures, shadows,
or saved to become 'Good Stuff', which makes you lucky. If you had
to spend too many points, you can take 'Bad Stuff' and be unlucky, or reduce
attributes below zero.

The central game mechanic is simple: the higher ranked attribute
wins, all things being equal. Of course, smart Amberites make sure
all things WON'T be equal.

My pages under the Links section get into all of this in far more detail,
and the rules have FINALLY come back into print, and can be obtained at
Amazon.com.